purple caricature ikki

*Clang*

The air rang with the sound of heavy clashing metal, and the white bone blade lurched back.

"….Wh…!"

At that moment, Kuraudo's expression was frozen in shock. His full-force attack had been blocked—no, it was more than that. It had been stopped by Kaleidoscope Sara Bloodlily, the lowest opponent. Now Kuraudo was confused to the point that he couldn't recover. And the thing so surprising that he couldn't breathe was—


The thing that had blown Kuraudo's full force attack back was a black-haired boy holding a glimmering black katana.


"Purple Caricature—Crownless Sword King." [13]

And Sara said this.

"If you want to fight him so badly… then you can do it as much as you like."

Instantly, the Crownless Sword King who'd pushed Orochimaru back lowered his waist.

Oh sh—!

"Ittou Shura."

Piercing the distance clad in a blue light that cut through the atmosphere, in a flash that no sword could keep up with, he cut deeply into Kuraudo's chest.

"Gaaahhh!"

An attack that sliced his exposed skull tattoo diagonally. The unexpected blade strike made Kuraudo stagger, his blood splashing. But his shock was greater than the damage of the wound. His eyes were locked wide open at the impossible reality before him, and he had no words for it. Nor was he the only one surprised.

「Wh...What is going on!? Contender Kurogane who must be in the waiting room suddenly appeared in the ring, and attacked Contender Kurashiki!」

「I-It can't be! Purple Caricature can even reproduce other Blazers…!?」

At Sara's incredible feat of recreating a Blazer and his Noble Art, the broadcasters and their commentary and the audience and everything else was frozen in disbelief. The Crownless Sword King created by Purple Caricature didn't let this good opportunity go. With sharp strikes that were surely no weaker than Ikki's own, he pressed the attack. Against them, Kuraudo wouldn't be able to counter—

「Contender Kurashiki is on the defensive! He can't make a move! Can he overcome this situation…!?」

「This is terrible for Contender Kurashiki, isn't it? The strength of his Marginal Counter is reaction speed above human norms and the movement speed it allows. Those two speed advantages provide him all kinds of front-line tactical choices. Originally, it would make him an even match with the Crownless Sword King using Ittou Shura, and he could probably stay defensive for one minute—but it seems dual wielding is too much. His reaction speed is still better than the Crownless Sword King, but the maximum acceleration of moving two swords can't keep up with Marginal Counter. At this rate….」

They gave way. The action progressed even faster than Muroto could explain it. Kuraudo's defense with two blades finally gave way, and the strikes from a glimmering black blade the same as the real Crownless Sword King's began to mangle Kuraudo's flesh. In the middle of the ring, fresh blood flew. The Crownless Sword King had been using Ittou Shura for less than twenty seconds. At this rate, Kuraudo couldn't possibly endure.

"Dammit…!"

This fact made Kuraudo grind his teeth.

Am I gonna lose again…!?

Even though he had coughed and pissed blood, worked himself with the intent to change his own soul's shape—

Can I—not beat this guy….

- Volume 6, Chapter 7
[A single Ikki clone rolls Kuraudo despite him having just effortlessly dodged automatic fire from 100 guns at once, considering that he'd gotten a lot stronger since Ikki fought him in volume 2, these clones are legitimately as strong as current Ikki circa vol 6]
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'Sheesh. After Stella-chan beat 'em up so soundly, I thought things would calm down, but something this ridiculous still happened.'

Yuudai Moroboshi, having seen all of Kuraudo's match from the blue gate waiting room, expressed his astonishment. Since he had competed with the Crownless Sword King himself, Moroboshi understood that the imitation was the real deal. Neither the sharpness and clarity of the technique nor that tactical discernment were any different from the genuine article. To be the complete equal of the knight he had lost to… ahh, what kind of nightmare was that?

- Volume 6, intermission: Blackout
[Moroboshi confirms that Sara's Ikki clones are just as good as Ikki himself]
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